Agricultural News

No One Straight Shot at Fixing WOTUS, NCBA Taking All Avenues to Rid Cattlemen of the Rule

Thu, 16 Feb 2017 11:51:07 CST

As we wait patiently for the confirmation of Oklahoma’s Attorney General Scott Pruitt as President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Scott Yager, environmental counsel for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is hopeful that once confirmed, Pruitt will act quickly to repeal and replace the Waters of the US rule. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays spoke with Yager recently about what other avenues NCBA is taking to take down WOTUS. He says they’re not putting all their eggs in one basket.

“There’s different ways to get at WOTUS and we’re taking every path to do that,” Yager asserted. “We’re suing the agencies through the courts, we’re lobbying Congress to do legislation to define WOTUS and replace the WOTUS rule, and then we’re also working with the administration.”

While efforts to fix the WOTUS problem will likely just get hung up in the Legislative branch - finding the necessary support in the senate being the issue there - Yager says the best chance they have at success, lies with the administration. Repealing WOTUS was in fact a campaign promise that Trump ran on.

“We want Pruitt to get confirmed as quickly as possible,” Yager said, echoing that wish for the vacant leadership positions in the agency as well,” so they can reexamine the WOTUS rule. Then ultimately, they could decide to withdraw it through a federal rule making process.”

Yager adds though that even if this plan flows as planned, repealing WOTUS once and for all would still have a long road ahead. He predicts if EPA rolls WOTUS back, it would start a chain reaction of lawsuits against the agency by environmental groups.

Listen to Hays and Yager speak more in depth about the ongoing efforts by NCBA to get the WOTUS rule repealed, on today’s Beef Buzz.

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

Listen to Hays and Yager speak more in depth about the ongoing efforts by NCBA to repeal WOTUS